Saturday, June 7, 2014

Birthdays

Birthdays come once each year, and yesterday was one of them. I'm so thankful for my family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and my awesome little girl, Melody, for making the day so special. I've never received so many well-wishes, mostly due to social media, which allows one to connect with others so easily. How did we get by before Facebook? Or Twitter? Yeah, I know, we used land-line phones and pen and paper to communicate, but surely this is an improvement, right? Or is it less sincere? I don't know. But I like it, and I'm thankful for the wonderful sentiment.

After a wildly difficult day of travel Thursday from Oklahoma City to home (which I may blog about in a future post), today was a pretty good day. My daughter had decorated the front door with a poster and a gift, which was a nice surprise to come home to. I woke up energized (despite a little bit of jet lag), and arrived early to work. My office had been completely decorated with streamers and balloons, thanks to my colleagues and employees. My boss led a rendition of "Happy Birthday" to serenade me during a meeting with a large number of my colleagues. I had planned to take off early, but due to a bunch of meetings, mostly unplanned, I worked a full day, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

I made a reservation at the local Melting Pot for dinner. Melody and I had an incredible meal. The only negative was when our server lost her pepper gun and it bounced off the table, shattering Melody's water glass and getting her all wet. Once the food began arriving, it was all good, though. We enjoyed different meats and veggies, cheese, and "the Yin and Yang", a combination of white and dark chocolate, into which we dipped strawberries, bananas, and pastries. The Melting Pot is good, but expensive. It's easily a $100 meal.

After a leisurely drive home through Columbia, we relaxed at home, the first chance we had to do so since I got home from my trip. It was a nice evening, though the jet lag finally caught up with me. I had intended to publish this last night, but I fell asleep while typing this. I woke up and saw about 300 "k"s on the screen. So I'm now finishing this up this morning.

It's good to be home. 45 isn't so bad. Another birthday is certainly better than the alternative. I'm blessed with an incredibly wonderful life. God is good.

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Favorite Quotations

Matthew 16:23 - "But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'"

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

1 Peter 5:10 - "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Thessalonians 4:13 - "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Titus 2:7-8 - "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

"Don't judge a man by where he is, because you don't know how far he has come." - C.S. Lewis

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." - George Washington

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The future starts today, not tomorrow." -- Pope John Paul II

"No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence the Angel, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

"Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life; enjoy it." - Jim Henson